Industrial waste treatment handbook

Industrial Waste Treatment Handbook



Industrial Waste Treatment Handbook

Frank Woodard, Ph.D., P.E.,
President


Copyright © 2001 by Butterworth–Heinemann
A member of the Reed Elsevier group
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Woodard, Frank, 1939
Industrial waste treatment handbook/Frank Woodard
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
ISBN 0-7506-7317-6
1. Factory and trade waste—Management—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 2. Sewage—Purification—Handbooks, manuals,
etc. 3. Industries—Environmental
TD897.W67 2000]
628.4—dc21
00-044448

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America


Dedication
To Dr. James C. Buzzell, whose fascinating
anecdotes lured me into this profession; Dr. Otis
J. Sproul, by whose example I became accustomed to
and enjoyed hard work and a scholarly approach
to life; Dr. James E. Etzel, by whose example I
developed an insatiable desire to figure out better
ways to achieve treatment of industrial wastes; and
my (almost) lifelong best friend, Jean McNeary
Woodard, who deserves much of the credit for the
existence of this book.

v

1 Management of Industrial Wastes: Solids, Liquids, and Gases ....................

1

1.1 Management of Industrial Wastewater ................................................................................
1.2 O&M Costs ...........................................................................................................................
1.3 Management of Solid Wastes from Industries .....................................................................
1.4 Management of Discharges to the Air ..................................................................................
1.5 Bibliography .........................................................................................................................

1
10
18
20
28

2 Fundamentals ....................................................................................................

29

2.1 Introduction ..........................................................................................................................
2.2 Characteristics of Industrial Wastewater ..............................................................................
2.3 The Polar Properties of Water .............................................................................................
2.4 Electrical and Thermodynamic Stability ...............................................................................
2.5 Chemical Structure and Polarity of Water ............................................................................
2.6 Hydrogen Bonding ...............................................................................................................
2.7 Polar Solvents versus Nonpolar Solvents True Solutions ..................................................
2.8 Emulsification .......................................................................................................................
2.9 Colloidal Suspensions ..........................................................................................................

2.10 Mixtures Made Stable by Chelating Agents .......................................................................
2.11 Summary ............................................................................................................................
2.12 Examples ...........................................................................................................................
2.13 Bibliography .......................................................................................................................

29
29
30
33
36
37
38
40
43
44
44
45
48

3 Laws and Regulations .......................................................................................

49

3.1 Introduction ..........................................................................................................................
3.2 History of Permitting and Reporting .....................................................................................
3.3 Requirements .......................................................................................................................
3.4 Water Pollution Control Laws ...............................................................................................
3.5 Groundwater Pollution Control Laws ...................................................................................
3.6 Air Pollution Control Laws ....................................................................................................
3.7 Bibliography .........................................................................................................................

49
49
49
50
52
55
60

4 Wastes from Industries .....................................................................................

61

4.1 Chemical Descaling .............................................................................................................
4.2 Degreasing ...........................................................................................................................
4.3 Rinsing .................................................................................................................................
4.4 Electroplating of Tin .............................................................................................................
4.5 The Copper Forming Industry ..............................................................................................
4.6 Prepared Frozen Foods .......................................................................................................
4.7 Wastes From De-inking .......................................................................................................
4.8 Die Casting: Aluminum, Zinc, and Magnesium ....................................................................
4.9 Anodizing and Alodizing .......................................................................................................
4.10 Production and Processing of Coke ...................................................................................
4.11 The Wine-Making Industry .................................................................................................
4.12 The Synthetic Rubber Industry ..........................................................................................
4.13 The Soft Drink Bottling Industry .........................................................................................
4.14 Production and Processing of Beef, Pork, and Other Sources of Red Meat .....................
4.15 Rendering of By-Products from the Processing of Meat, Poultry, and Fish .......................
4.16 The Manufacture of Lead Acid Batteries ............................................................................
4.17 Bibliography .......................................................................................................................

61
62
64
65
74
77
86
93
99
103
107
110
119
124
130
138
144

5 Industrial Stormwater Management .................................................................

149

5.1 General ................................................................................................................................
5.2 Federal Stormwater Regulations .........................................................................................
5.3 Prevention of Groundwater Contamination ..........................................................................
5.4 Stormwater Segregation, Collection, Retention, and Treatment ..........................................
5.5 Design Storm .......................................................................................................................
5.6 System Failure Protection ....................................................................................................
5.7 Stormwater Retention ..........................................................................................................

5.8 Stormwater Treatment .........................................................................................................
5.9 Stormwater as a Source of Process Water Makeup ............................................................
5.10 Bibliography .......................................................................................................................

149
149
151
152
152
153
153
153
154
165


6 Wastes Characterization: The Wastes Characterization Study, Wastes
Audit, and the Environmental Audit ....................................................................

166

6.1 Wastes Characterization Study ............................................................................................
6.2 Wastes Audit ........................................................................................................................
6.3 Environmental Audit .............................................................................................................
6.4 Characteristics of Industrial Wastewater ..............................................................................
6.5 Characteristics of Discharges to the Air ...............................................................................
6.6 Sample Analysis ..................................................................................................................
6.7 Ambient Air Sampling ..........................................................................................................
6.8 Characteristics of Solid Waste Streams from Industries ......................................................
6.9 Bibliography .........................................................................................................................

166
169
172
179
192
198
198
201
205

7 Pollution Prevention ..........................................................................................

208

Findings and Policy ....................................................................................................................
7.1 General Approach ................................................................................................................
7.2 Source Reduction ................................................................................................................
7.3 The Waste Audit ..................................................................................................................
7.4 Benefits of Pollution Prevention ...........................................................................................
7.5 Bibliography .........................................................................................................................

208
209
212
215
216
216

8 Methods for Treating Wastewaters from Industry ..........................................

219

8.1 General ................................................................................................................................
8.2 Principle and Nonprinciple Treatment Mechanisms .............................................................
8.3 Waste Equalization ..............................................................................................................
8.4 pH Control ............................................................................................................................
8.5 Chemical Methods of Wastewater Treatment ......................................................................
8.6 Biological Methods of Wastewater Treatment .....................................................................
8.7 Development of Design Equations for Biological Treatment of Industrial Wastes ...............
8.8 Physical Methods of Wastewater Treatment .......................................................................
8.9 Bibliography .........................................................................................................................

219
220
223
227
230
255
256
322
394

9 Treatment and Disposal of Solid Wastes from Industry ................................

397

9.1 Characterization of Solid Wastes .........................................................................................
9.2 The Solid Waste Landfill ......................................................................................................
9.3 Solid Waste Incineration ......................................................................................................

9.4 The Process of Composting Industrial Wastes ....................................................................
9.5 Solidification and Stabilization of Industrial Solid Wastes ....................................................
9.6 Bibliography .........................................................................................................................

398
400
409
421
427
433

10 Methods for Treating Air Discharges from Industry ....................................

437

10.1 Reduction at the Source ....................................................................................................
10.2 Containment .......................................................................................................................
10.3 Treatment ...........................................................................................................................
10.4 Bibliography .......................................................................................................................

437
437
438
456

Index ......................................................................................................................

461

Preface

of industry and size. In all cases, the actual
numbers and all pertinent information have
been reproduced as they occurred, with the
intent of providing accurate illustrations of
how environmental quality problems have been
solved by one of the leading consultants in the
field of industrial wastes management.
This book is intended to fulfill the need for
an updated source of information on the characteristics of wastes from numerous types of
industries, how the different types of wastes are
most efficiently treated, the mechanisms
involved in treatment, and the design process
itself. In many cases, “tricks” that enable lower
cost treatment are presented. These “tricks”
have been developed through many years of
experience and have not been generally available except by word of mouth.
The chapter on laws and regulations is presented as a summary as of the date stated in the
chapter itself and/or the addendum that is
issued periodically by the publisher. For information on the most recent addendum, please
call the publisher or Woodard & Curran’s
office in Portland, Maine, at (207) 774-2112.

This book has been developed with the intention of providing an updated primary reference
for environmental managers working in industry, environmental engineering consultants,
graduate students in environmental engineering, and government agency employees
concerned with wastes from industries. It presents an explanation of the fundamental
mechanisms by which pollutants become dissolved or suspended in water or air, then builds
on this knowledge to explain how different

treatment processes work, how they can be
optimized, and how one would go about efficiently selecting candidate treatment processes.
Examples from the recent work history of
Woodard & Curran, as well as other environmental engineering and science consultants,
are presented to illustrate both the approach
used in solving various environmental quality
problems and the step-by-step design of facilities to implement the solutions. Where permission was granted, the industry involved in each
of these examples is identified by name. Otherwise, no name was given to the industry, and
the industry has been identified only as to type

ix


Acknowledgments

Robinson; Dr. James E. Etzel; James
D. Ekedahl; Karen L. Townsend; Katahdin
Analytical Services; Keith A. Weisenberger;
Kurt R. Marston; Michael Harlos; Michael
J. Curato; Patricia A. Proux-Lough; Paul
Bishop; Randy E. Tome; Eric P. King; Raymond G. Pepin; Robert W. Severance; Steven
N. Whipple; Steven Smock; Susan G. Stevens;
Terry Rinehart; and Thora Knakkergaard, all of
whom contributed text or verbal information
from which I freely drew, either word-for-word
or by way of paraphrase. I extend special
thanks to Adam Steinman, Esq., who provided
text and verbal information regarding laws,
regulations and environmental audits.

This work was produced over a period of more
than five years; during that time, a very large
number of individuals, corporations, and various
business organizations contributed significant
material. I have tried to cite each contributor,
and I apologize mightily if I have missed one or
more. Thus, I extend heartfelt gratitude and
acknowledgement to:
Adam H. Steinman; Aeration Technologies,
Inc.; R. Gary Gilbert; Albert M. Presgraves;
Andy Miller; Claire P. Betze; Connie Bogard;
Connie Gipson; Dennis Merrill; Dr. Steven
E. Woodard; Geoffrey D. Pellechia; George
Abide; George W. Bloom; Henri J. Vincent; Dr.
Hugh J. Campbell; J. Alastair Lough; Janet

x


1 Management of Industrial
Wastes: Solids, Liquids, and Gases
The approach used to develop systems to treat
and dispose of industrial wastes is distinctly
different from the approach used for municipal
wastes. There is a lot of similarity in the characteristics of wastes from one municipality, or
one region, to another. Because of this, the best
approach to designing a treatment system for
municipal wastes is to analyze the performance
characteristics of many existing municipal systems and deduce an optimal set of design
parameters for the system under consideration.

Emphasis is placed on the analysis of other systems, rather than on the waste stream under
consideration. In the case of industrial waste,
however, few industrial plants have a high
degree of similarity between products produced and wastes generated. Therefore,
emphasis is placed on analysis of the wastes
under consideration, rather than on what is taking place at other industrial locations. This is
not to say that there is little value in analyzing
the performance of treatment systems at other,
more or less similar, industrial locations. Quite
the opposite is true. It is simply a matter of
emphasis.
Wastes from industries are customarily classified as liquid wastes, solid wastes, or air pollutants, and often the three are managed by
different people or departments. The three separate categories are regulated by separate and
distinct bodies of laws and regulations, and historically, public and governmental emphasis
has moved from one category to another from
one time period to another. The fact is, however, that the three categories of wastes are
closely interrelated, both as they impact on the
environment and as they are generated and
managed by individual industrial facilities.
Solid wastes disposed of in the ground can
influence the quality of groundwater and

surface waters by way of leachate entering the
groundwater and traveling with it through the
ground, then entering a surface water body
with groundwater recharge. Volatile organics in
that recharge water can contaminate the air. Air
pollutants can fall out to become surface water
or groundwater pollutants, and water pollutants
can infiltrate into the ground or volatilize into

the air.
Waste treatment processes can also transfer
substances from one of the three waste categories to one or both of the others. Air pollutants
can be removed from an air discharge by means
of a water solution scrubber. The waste scrubber solution must then be managed to enable it
to be discarded within compliance with applicable water regulations. Airborne particulates
can be removed from an air discharge using a
bag house, thus creating a solid waste to be
managed. On still a third level, waste treatment
or disposal systems themselves can directly
impact on the quality of air, water, or ground.
Activated sludge aeration tanks are very effective in causing volatilization of substances
from wastewater. Failed landfills can be potent
polluters of both groundwater and surface
water.
The total spectrum of industrial wastes, then,
must be managed as substances resulting from
a system of interrelated activities. Materials
balances must be tracked, and overall cost
effectiveness must be kept in focus.

Management of Industrial Wastewater
With respect to industrial wastewater, Figure
1-1 illustrates the approach for developing a
well-operating, cost-effective treatment system.
The first step is to gain familiarity with
the manufacturing processes themselves. This
1

2

Industrial Waste Treatment Handbook

usually starts with a tour of the facility, and
then progresses through a review of the literature and interviews with knowledgeable
people. The objective is to gain an understanding of how wastewater is produced, for two
reasons. The first is to enable an informed and
therefore effective wastes reduction, or minimization (pollution prevention) program; the
second is to enable proper choice of candidate
treatment technologies.

Figure 1-1 Approach for developing an industrial wastewater treatment system.

Analysis of Manufacturing Processes
One of the first steps in the analysis of manufacturing processes is to develop a block
diagram that shows how each manufacturing
process contributes wastewater to the treatment
facility, as is illustrated in Figure 1-2. In Figure
1-2, a block represents each step in the manufacturing process. The supply of water to each
point of use is represented on the left side of
the block diagram. Wastewater that flows away
from each point of wastewater generation is
shown on the right side.
Figure 1-2 is representative of the processes
involved in producing finished woven fabric
from an intermediate product of the textile
industry. The “raw material” for this process is
first subjected to a process called “desizing,”
during which the substances used to size the

woven greige goods, or raw fabric, are
removed. The process uses sulfuric acid; therefore, the liquid waste from this process would
be expected to have a low pH as well as contain
whatever substances were used as sizing. For
instance, if starch were the substance used to
size the fabric, the liquid waste from the desizing process would be expected to exhibit a high
biochemical oxygen demand (BOD).
As the knowledge became available, from
the industry’s records, if possible, or from measurements taken as part of a wastewater characterization study, the flow rates, total quantities
for a typical processing day, upper and lower
limits, and characteristics such as BOD, chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended
solids (TSS), total dissolved solids (TDS),
and specific chemicals would be indicated on
the block diagram. Each individual process


Management of Industrial Wastes: Solids, Liquids, and Gases

undergone during the industrial process would
be developed and shown on the block diagram,
as illustrated in Figure 1-2.
Wastes Minimization and Wastes
Characterization Study
After becoming sufficiently familiar with the
manufacturing processes as they relate to

3

wastewater generation, the design team should
institute a wastes minimization program

(actually part of a pollution prevention program) as described in Chapter 7. Then, after the
wastes reduction program has become fully
implemented, a wastewater characterization
study should be carried out, as described in
Chapter 6.

Figure 1-2 Typical woven fabric finishing process flow diagram. (From the EPA Development Document for the Textile
Mills Industry.)


4

Industrial Waste Treatment Handbook

The ultimate purpose of the wastewater
characterization study is to provide the
design team with accurate and complete
information on which to base the design of
the treatment system. Both quantitative and
qualitative data are needed to properly size
the facility and to select the most appropriate
treatment technologies.
Often, enough new information about materials usage, water use efficiency, and wastes
generation is learned during the wastewater
characterization study to warrant a second level
of wastes minimization effort. This second part
of the wastes minimization program should be
fully implemented, and its effectiveness should
be verified by more sampling and analyses,
which amounts to an extension of the wastewater characterization study.

A cautionary note is appropriate here concerning maintenance of the wastes minimization program. If, after implementation of the
wastes minimization program, operation of the
manufacturing facilities and/or housekeeping
practices loses attention and becomes lax so
that wastewater increases in volume, strength,
or both, the treatment facility will be underdesigned and will be overloaded at the start. It is
extremely important that realistic goals be set
and maintained for the wastes minimization
program, and that the design team, as well as
the industry’s management team, are fully
aware of the consequences of overloading the
treatment system.

municipal or regional treatment facilities have
pretreatment standards that are more stringent
than those required by the EPA.
If the treated effluent is discharged to an
open body of water, then a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
permit, plus a permit issued by the appropriate state agency, must be complied with. In
all cases, Categorical Standards issued by the
Federal EPA apply, and it is necessary to
work closely with one or more government
agencies while developing the treatment
objectives.

Treatment Objectives
After the volume, strength, and substance characteristics of the wastewater have been
established, the treatment objectives must be
determined. These objectives depend on where
the wastewater is to be sent after treatment. If

the treated wastewater is discharged to another
treatment facility, such as a regional facility or
a municipal treatment system, pretreatment
requirements must be complied with. As a
minimum, the Federal Pretreatment Guidelines issued by the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) and published in the Federal
Register must be complied with. Some

Bench Scale Investigations
Bench scale investigations quickly and efficiently determine the technical feasibility and
a rough approximation of the financial feasibility of a given technology. Bench scale
studies range from rough experiments in
which substances are mixed in a beaker and
results are observed almost immediately, to
rather sophisticated continuous flow studies in
which a refrigerated reservoir contains representative industrial wastewater, which is
pumped through a series of miniature treatment devices that are models of the full-size
equipment. Typical bench scale equipment

Selection of Candidate Technologies
Once the wastewater characteristics and the
treatment objectives are known, candidate technologies for treatment can be selected.
Rationale for selection is discussed in detail in
Chapter 8. The selection should be based on
one or more of the following:
• Successful application to a similar wastewater
• Knowledge of chemistry, biochemistry, and
microbiology
• Knowledge of what technologies are available, as well as knowledge of their
respective capabilities and limitations

Then, bench scale investigations should be
conducted to determine technical as well as
financial feasibility.


Management of Industrial Wastes: Solids, Liquids, and Gases

includes the six-place stirrer shown in
Figure 1-3(a), small columns for ion exchange
resins, activated carbon, or sand, shown in
Figure 1-3(b), “block aerators,” shown in
Figures 1-3(c) and (d), for performing microbiological treatability studies, and any number
of custom-designed devices for testing the
technical feasibility of given treatment
technologies.
Because of scale-up problems, it is seldom
advisable to proceed directly from the results
of bench scale investigations to design of the
full-scale wastewater treatment system. Only in
cases for which extensive experience exists
with both the type of wastewater being treated
and the technology and types of equipment to
be used can this approach be justified. Otherwise, pilot scale investigations should be

Figure 1-3(a)

5

conducted for each technology that appears to
be a legitimate candidate for reliable, costeffective treatment.

In the absence of pilot scale investigations,
the design team is obliged to be conservative in
estimating design criteria for the treatment system. The likely result is that the cost for the
facility will be greater than the total cost for the
pilot scale investigations plus the treatment
facility that would have been designed using
the information that would have been developed from the pilot scale investigations. Said
another way, the objective of pilot scale investigations is to develop the data necessary to
determine the minimum size and least costly
system of equipment to enable the design of a
treatment system that will reliably meet its
intended purpose.

Photograph of a six-place stirrer. (Courtesy of ©Phipps & Bird, Inc., 2000.)


6

Industrial Waste Treatment Handbook

Figure 1-3(b) Illustration of a column set-up to evaluate treatment methods that use granular media. (From Wachinski and
Etzel, Environmental Ion Exchange: Principles and Design, 1997. Reprinted by permission of CRC/Lewis Publishers.)

Figure 1-3(c)

Diagrammatic sketch of a block aerator set-up for performing treatability studies in the laboratory.


Management of Industrial Wastes: Solids, Liquids, and Gases

Pilot Scale Investigations
A pilot scale investigation is a study of the performance of a given treatment technology
using the actual wastewater to be treated, usually on site, and using a representative model
of the equipment that would be used in the
full-scale treatment system. The term “representative model” refers to the capability of the

7

pilot treatment system to closely duplicate the
performance of the full-scale system. In some
cases, accurate scale models of the full-scale
system are used. In other cases, the pilot
equipment bears no physical resemblance to
the full-scale system. Fifty-five gallon drums
have been successfully used for pilot scale
investigations.

Figure 1-3(d) Photograph of a block aerator set-up for performing treatability studies in the laboratory. (Courtesy of
AWARE Environmental, Inc.)


8

Industrial Waste Treatment Handbook

It is not unusual for equipment manufacturers to have pilot scale treatment systems that
can be transported to the industrial site on a
flatbed truck trailer. A rental fee is usually
charged, and there is sometimes an option to
include an operator in the rental fee. It is

important, however, to keep all options open.
Operation of a pilot scale treatment system that
is rented from one equipment manufacturer
might produce results that indicate that another
type of equipment (using or not using the same
technology) would be the wiser choice.
Figure 1-4 presents a photograph of a pilot
scale wastewater treatment system.
One of the difficulties in operating a pilot
scale treatment system is the susceptibility of
the system to upset caused by slug doses, wide
swings in temperature, plugging of the relatively small diameter pipes, and lack of familiarity on the part of the operator.
When operating a pilot scale treatment system for a sufficiently long period, it is critically
important to:
1.

2.

Evaluate its performance on all combinations of wastes that are reasonably
expected to occur during the foreseeable
life of the prototype system.
Provide sufficient opportunity to evaluate
all reasonable combinations of operation
parameters. When operation parameters
are changed—for instance the volumetric
loading of an air scrubber, the chemical
feed rate of a sludge press, or the recycle
ratio for a reverse osmosis system—the
system must operate for a long enough
time to achieve steady state before data to

be used for evaluation are taken. Of
course, it will be necessary to obtain data
during the period just after operation
parameters are changed, to determine
when steady state has been reached.

During the pilot plant operation period,
observations should be made to determine
whether performance predicted from the results
of the bench scale investigations is being confirmed. If performance is significantly different
from what was predicted, it may be prudent to

stop the pilot scale investigation work and try
to determine the cause.

Preliminary Designs
The results of the pilot scale investigations
show which technologies are capable of meeting the treatment objectives, but do not enable
an accurate estimation of capital and operating
costs. A meaningful cost-effectiveness analysis
can take place only after preliminary designs of
those technologies that produced satisfactory
effluent quality in the pilot scale investigations
have been completed. A preliminary design,
then, is a design of an entire wastewater treatment facility, carried out in sufficient detail to
enable accurate estimation of the costs for constructing and operating a wastewater treatment
facility. It must be complete to the extent that
the sizes and descriptions of all of the pumps,
pipes, valves, tanks, concrete work, buildings,
site work, control systems, and labor requirements are established. The difference between

a preliminary design and a final design is principally in the completeness of detail in the
drawings and in the specifications. It is almost
as though the team that produces the preliminary design could use it to directly construct
the plant. The extra detail that goes into the
final design is principally used to communicate
all of the intentions of the design team to people
not involved in the design.
Economic Comparisons
The choice of treatment technology and a complete treatment system between two or more
systems proven to be reliably capable of meeting the treatment objectives should be based on
a thorough analysis of all costs over the
expected life of the system.
Example: Pretreatment for a Microcrystalline Cellulose Manufacturing Plant
By Henri Vincent
The following sections illustrate an economic
comparison of five alternatives for treating
wastewater from an industrial plant producing


Management of Industrial Wastes: Solids, Liquids, and Gases

Figure 1-4

Photograph of a pilot scale wastewater treatment system. (Courtesy of Paques ADI, Inc.)

9


10

Industrial Waste Treatment Handbook

microcrystalline cellulose from wood pulp.
This plant discharged about 41,000 gallons per
day (GPD) of wastewater to the local municipal
sewer system (publicly owned treatment works
[POTW]). The municipality that owned the
POTW charged the industry a fee for treatment,
and the charge was proportional to the strength,
in terms of the BOD, TSS, fats, oils, and
greases (FOG), and total daily flow (Q).
In order to reduce the treatment charges
from the POTW, the plant had the option of
constructing and operating its own wastewater
treatment system; however, because there was
not an alternative place to discharge the
treated wastewater other than the municipal
sewer system, there would continue to be a
charge from the POTW, but it would be
reduced in proportion to the degree of treatment accomplished by the industry. Because
the industry’s treated wastewater would be
further treated by the POTW, the industry’s
treatment system is referred to as a “pretreatment system,” regardless of the degree of
treatment accomplished.
Sequencing Batch Reactors
The use of sequencing batch reactors is one
alternative for pretreating the plant’s wastewaters. Table 1-1 presents capital costs associated
with this.
Rotating Biological Contactors
Table 1-2 presents a summary of the capital

costs associated with this option. Also included
in Table 1-2 is the number of each unit
required, along with its size and installed cost.
Fluidized Bed Anaerobic Reactors
Table 1-3 presents a summary of the capital
costs associated with this option. Also included
in Table 1-3 is the number of each unit
required, along with its size and installed cost.
Expanded Bed Anaerobic Reactors
Because the expanded bed is not commercially available, capital costs were estimated

using the major system components from
the fluidized bed anaerobic reactor (see
Table 1-3) and deleting the following items
that are not required for the expanded bed
system:
• Two 40-ft Secondary Clarifiers
• Two 20 GPM Sludge Pumps
• One 40-ft3 Filter Press
• Two 60 GPM Filter Feed Pumps
• Two 80 GPM Sludge Transfer Pumps
• One 10 BP Sludge Tank Mixer
• One 5 HP Sludge Tank Mixer
• One 100 CFM Compressor
Also, a smaller building was designed for
this option.
As a result of these deletions, the estimated
capital cost for the expanded bed anaerobic
reactor system is $1,600,000.

O&M Costs
Operational and maintenance costs presented
for each treatment alternative include the following elements:
• Chemicals
• Power
• Labor
• Sludge disposal, if applicable
• Sewer use charges
• Maintenance
The bases for estimating the annual operating cost for each of the previous elements were
(1) the quantity of chemicals required for average design value; (2) power costs for running
pumps, motors, blowers, etc.; (3) labor
required to operate the facility; (4) sludge disposal costs, assuming sludge would be disposed of at a local landfill; (5) the cost for
sewer use charges based on present rates; and
(6) maintenance costs at a fixed percentage of
total capital costs. The estimated sewer use
charges for each treatment alternative are given
in Table 1-4.


Management of Industrial Wastes: Solids, Liquids, and Gases
Table 1-1

Capital Cost Opinion; Sequencing Batch Reactors — Alternative #1

Equipment

No. Units

Size

SBR Feed Pumps

3

220 GPM

20,000

Blowers

5

1,500 ACFM

120,000

Aeration Equipment

2

6,000 ACFM

77,000

Floating Mixer

2

15 HP

66,000

Floating Decanter

2

1,200 GPM

44,000

Decant Pump

2

1,200 GPM

26,000

Waste Sludge Pumps

2

450 GPM

13,000

Sludge Press

1

100 ft3

Filter Feed Pumps

2

60 GPM

8,000

Thickener

1

100 GPM

100,000

Thickener Feed Pumps

2

50 GPM

8,000

Air Compressor

1

100 CFM

44,000

Ammonia Feed System

1

360 PPD

22,000

Phosphoric Acid Feed System

1

15 GPD

6,000

Potassium Chloride Feed System

1

50 PPD

11,000

Sludge Tank Mixer

1

15 HP

13,000

Filter Feed Tank Mixer

1

5 HP

7,000

Total Installed Equipment Cost

Installed Cost ($)

186,000

770,000

Site Work @ 5%

38,000

Electrical & Instrumentation @ 10%

77,000

Process Pipes & Valves @ 10%

77,000
117,000

30’ × 60’ Building @ $65/ft2
2-SBR Tanks (390,000 gal)

300,0001

Sludge Holding Tank (160,000 gal)

95,000

Equalization Tank (50,000 gal)

58,000
Subtotal:

OH & P @ 22%

337,000
Subtotal:

Engineering @ 12%

Contingency @ 25%

2,093,000

523,000

Estimated Construction Cost:

2,616,000
Say:

Total for Both Tanks

1,869,000
224,000

Subtotal:

1

1,532,000

2,600,000

11


12

Industrial Waste Treatment Handbook

Table 1-2

Capital Cost Opinion; Rotating Biological Contactors — Alternative #2

Equipment

No. Units

Size

RBC Feed Pumps

3

220 GPM

Clarifiers

2

40’ Diameter

Sludge Pumps

2

100 GPM

Sludge Press

1

100 ft3

Filter Feed Pumps

2

60 GPM

8,000

Thickener

1

100 GPM

100,000

Thickener Feed Pumps

2

50 GPM

8,000

Air Compressor

1

100 CFM

44,000

Ammonia Feed System

1

360 PPD

22,000

Phosphoric Acid Feed System

1

15 GPD

5,500

Potassium Chloride Feed System

1

60 PPD

11,000

Sludge Tank Mixer

1

15 HP

13,000

Filter Feed Tank Mixer

1

5 HP

7,000

Blowers

5

500 CFM

63,000

Aeration System

1

2,000 CFM

44,000

Total Installed Equipment Cost:

Installed Cost ($)
20,000
195,000
11,000
186,000

737,000

Site Work @ 5%

37,000

Electrical & Instrumentation @ 10%

74,000

Process Pipes & Valves @ 10%

74,000
117,000

30’ × 60’ Building @ $65/ft2
Sludge Holding Tank (160,000 gal)

95,000

RBC Tanks (Concrete)

50,000

Subtotal:

22% OH & P

1,184,000
260,000

RBC Shafts & Enclosures

1,444,000
Subtotal:

12% Engineering

2,806,000
337,000

Subtotal:
25% Contingency

3,143,000
786,000

Estimated Construction Cost:

3,929,000
Say:

3,900,000

Management of Industrial Wastes: Solids, Liquids, and Gases
Table 1-3

13

Capital Cost Opinion; Fluidized Bed Anaerobic Reactors — Alternative #3

Equipment

No. Units

Size

Reactor Feed Pumps

3

220 GPM

Secondary Clarifiers

2

40’ Diameter

Sludge Pumps

2

20 GPM

Filter Press

1

40 ft3

Filter Feed Pumps

2

60 GPM

8,000

Sludge Transfer Pumps

2

80 GPM

8,000

Sludge Tank Mixer

1

10 HP

1,000

Filter Feed Tank Mixer

1

5 HP

7,000

Compressor

1

100 CFM

44,000

40 CFM

18,700

Gas Recovery Blower
Total Installed Equipment Cost:

Installed Cost ($)
20,000
195,000
3,300
108,000

413,000

Site Work @ 5%

21,000

Electrical & Instrumentation @ 10%

42,000

Process Pipes & Valves @ 10%

42,000

30’ × 30’ Building @ $65/ft2

58,000

Sludge Holding Tank (30,000 gal)

35,000
Subtotal:

OH & P @ 22%

611,000
134,000

Subtotal:

Upflow Fluidized Bed Reactor System

745,000
1,000,000

Subtotal:
Engineering @ 12%

1,745,000
209,000

Subtotal:
Contingency @ 25%

1,954,000
488,000

Estimated Construction Cost:

2,442,000
Say:

Sequencing Batch Reactors
An illustration of yearly O&M costs associated with the use of sequencing batch reactors
for wastewater pretreatment is presented in
Table 1-5.

2,450,000

Rotating Biological Contactors

Table 1-6 presents a summary of the capital
costs associated with this treatment alternative.
Also included in Table 1-6 is the estimated
quantity and unit cost for each O&M element.


14

Industrial Waste Treatment Handbook

Table 1-4

Estimated Sewer Use Charges

Scenario

*Yearly Cost ($)

No Treatment

928,000

SBR Alternative

325,000

RBC Alternative

325,000

Fluidized Bed Alternative

384,000

Expanded Bed Alternative

335,000

*Based on flow, TSS, and BOD5 charges currently incurred.

Table 1-5

Yearly O&M Cost Summary; Sequencing Batch Reactors — Alternative #1

Item

Unit

Quantity

Unit Cost ($)

*Yearly Cost ($)

Chemicals
Ammonia (Anhydrous)

Ton

Phosphoric Acid (85%)

lb

83,000

66

135
0.22

18,260

8,910

Potassium Chloride (99%)

lb

41,000

0.67

27,470

Sludge Conditioning

lb

9,000

1.00

9,000

Polymer
Power

kw-hr

Labor

3,000,000

0.054

162,000

man-hr

4,380

38

166,440

Ton

3,600

70

252,000

Sewer Use Charges 2

—

—

—

325,000

Maintenance 3

—

—

—

52,000

Sludge disposal

1

Total:

1,021,000

Say:

1,000,000

*Total rounded to nearest $50,000.
1
Sludge assumed to be nonhazardous; includes transportation.
2
Per Table 1-4.
3 Assumed to be 2% of total capital cost.

Fluidized Bed Anaerobic Reactors
Table 1-7 presents a summary of the capital
costs associated with this treatment alternative.
Included in Table 1-7 is the estimated quantity
and unit cost for each O&M element. Additional
information on gas recovery is also included to
show potential offsetting of O&M costs.

O&M elements from the fluidized bed anaerobic reactor (see Table 1-7) and adjusted for the
following:
• Labor. Because no sludge dewatering is
required, labor requirements can be
decreased by 75%.

Expanded Bed Anaerobic Reactors
Because the expanded bed is not commercially
available, O&M costs were estimated with the

Based on the above, the total O&M cost
without gas recovery is $400,000, and with gas
recovery is $300,000.

• Sludge Disposal. None required because
cellulose can be recycled.


Management of Industrial Wastes: Solids, Liquids, and Gases
Table 1-6

15

Yearly Operating Cost Summary; Rotating Biological Contactors — Alternative #2

Item

Unit

Quantity

Unit Cost ($)

*Yearly Cost ($)

Ammonia (Anhydrous)

Ton

66

Phosphoric Acid (85%)

lb.

83,000

0.22

18,260

Potassium Chloride (99%)

lb.

41,000

0.67

24,470

Sludge Conditioning

lb.

9,000

1.00

9,000

0.054

48,060

Chemicals

Polymer

135

8,910

kw-hr

890,000

man-hr

4,380

38

166,440

Sludge disposal 1

Ton

3,600

70

252,000

Sewer Use Charges 2

—

—

—

325,000

Maintenance 3

—

—

—

78,000

Power
Labor

Total:

930,140

Say:

950,000

*Total rounded to nearest $50,000.
Sludge assumed to be nonhazardous; includes transportation.
2
Per Table 1-4.
3
Assumed to be 2% of total capital cost.

1

Annualized Costs
Annualized costs are a convenient method for
making economic comparisons among treatment alternatives. To obtain annualized costs,
the capital cost for the alternative in question is
amortized over the life of the system, which for
the purposes of this example is assumed to be
20 years. The cost of money is assumed to be
10%.
The five alternative treatment systems evaluated in the previous sections include (1) a
sequencing batch reactor (SBR), (2) a rotating
biological contactor (RBC), (3) a fluidized bed
anaerobic reactor, (4) an expanded bed anaerobic reactor, and (5) the option of no pretreatment, which would result in paying the POTW
for accomplishing all of the treatment. The
four treatment system types are described in
Chapter 8.

The estimated costs for the major items of
equipment presented in this example, referred
to as “cost opinions,” and also presented in
Table 1-8, were obtained by soliciting price
quotations from vendors. Ancillary equipment
costs were obtained from cost estimating
guides such as Richardson’s, as well as experience with similar projects. Elements of capital
cost such as equipment installation, electrical,
process piping, and instrumentation were estimated as a fixed percentage of the purchase
price of major items of equipment. Costs for
the building, including plumbing and heating,
ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) were
estimated as a cost per square foot of the building. At this level of cost opinion, it is appropriate to use a contingency of 25%, and to expect
a level of accuracy of plus or minus 30% for
the total estimated cost.


16

Industrial Waste Treatment Handbook

Table 1-7

Yearly Operating Cost Summary; Fluidized Bed Anaerobic Reactor — Alternative #3
Item

Unit

Quantity

Unit Cost ($)

*Yearly Cost ($)

Chemicals
Ammonia (Anhydrous)

Ton

5

135

675

Phosphoric Acid (85%)

lb.

7,000

0.22

1,500

Potassium Chloride (99%)

lb.

3,000

0.67

2,000

lb.

6,000

1.00

6,000

Power

kw-hr

262,000

0.054

14,150

Labor

man-hr

4,380

38

166,440

Ton

1,642

70

114,940

Sewer Use Charges 2

—

—

—

384,000

Maintenance 3

—

—

—

49,000

Sludge Conditioning
Polymer

Sludge disposal 1

Gas Recovery

Total:

738,705

Say:

700,000

MCF:

19,000

3.50

(56,000)

Total with Gas Recovery:

640,000

Say:

650,000

* Total rounded to nearest $50,000.
Sludge assumed to be nonhazardous; includes transportation.
2
Per Table 1-4.
3
Assumed to be 2% of total capital cost.

1

Table 1-8

Annualized Costs
Total Capital
Alternative

Annual Capital
Cost ($)

Cost ($) 1

Total Annual
O&M Cost ($) 2

Cost ($)

#1 SBRs

2,600,000

300,000

1,000,000

1,300,000

#2 RBCs

3,900,000

450,000

950,000

1,400,000

#3 Fluidized Bed

2,450,000

300,000

700,000

1,000,000

(650,000)

(950,000)

400,000

600,000

(300,000)

(500,000)

#4 Expanded Bed

#5 Day Surcharge
1
2

1,600,000

—

200,000

900,000

Assumes 20-yr. life, 10% cost of money.
Assumes no increase in future O&M costs. Numbers in parentheses reflect energy recovery.

900,000